ACF 1: Exeunt Society
by MethodBehindMadness
Summary: Here at this prestigious facility, we will ensure that each and every one of you will be properly trained and taught in the ways of combat and survival. You will become experienced in the functioning of our vehicles and other technologies presented to you during your time here. All to prepare you for your pledge to guarantee the safety of our Lylat System. Welcome, to ACF.
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to ACF

Chapter 1: Welcome to ACF

He put a paw above his brow to block the rays of sunlight, blinding him from his view of the grand collection of structures rising up before him. They were rather intimidating what with the central building being the tallest one of the planet and quite possibly the entire system. And why wouldn't it be? It did contain the living quarters and base of operations for the figure responsible for the protection and well being of all lives dwelling within the system. But that building was off limits to students as far as the canine could attest.

This was the Academy for the Cornerian Forces, responsible for training the willing participants to become members of the Cornerian Army. This army was a division of the United Lylatian Forces consisting of beings from each planet within the Lylat System, with Corneria at its head.

Here, students aged seventeen and above go through a set of three different levels of education each lasting about a year. In the first stage, students are required to take all of the courses that the academy has to offer. These are mainly composed of basic lessons relatively close to normal schooling involving classrooms and various examinations.

The second stage goes a little more in depth as to what these future soldiers will expect to experience after their three years. It contains still some classroom elements but also more alternate methods like simulations and re-enacting specific scenarios, all while not going too extreme.

The third and final year is mostly preparation for the following lives of the students. This consists mostly of simulated and staged situations testing both the skill and knowledge of the trainees. There is written portions of this course, but is mainly focused on getting trainees recognized with their future surroundings.

After the first year, students are allowed to choose which aspect of the military they wish to pursue based on their experiences from their first year. There are three separate departments for them to choose from: aerial, infantry and naval studies, and research and technologies. While choosing one department, it is also allowed to choose specific areas of other departments that may peak some of the students interests.

However, the canine already knew all of this. Regardless of the fact that he was prepared and no doubt in the right mindset for this, he still couldn't help but feel a slight sense of apprehension. He removed his paw from the tops of his eyes and kept a tighter grip on his duffel bag as he continued his trek towards what would be his future for the next three years.

He was a cross between a Sheppard and a Husky, the wolf-like features of both were apparent and the brown coat of the Sheppard had dominated his entire body. The only Husky qualities about him were the one patch of black fur on his left arm running from his elbow to his fingertips and his eyes, one being an almost white blue and the other being a rusty gold.

He had visited the campus site before and had already spent a great deal getting to know his way around most areas of it. So, he had little to no trouble finding his way to the registration office in the main lobby of the academy.

As he approached the large metal desk he caught the attention of the avian receptionist seated behind it. She wore a friendly smile upon her face and politely asked, "Hello and welcome to ACF, may I help you with something?"

"Hello," the canine greeted her in response. "I'm here for recruitment, I already completed pre-registration so I'm sure that I'm somewhere in the files."

"One moment," the receptionist said. She quickly turned away from the canine to face the computer screen beside her. She accessed a certain file which brought up a long list of what seemed to be names. "Last name?" she asked him.

"Sullivan," he replied.

With that, the avian scrolled through the list stopping at the section of names marked with the surname "Sullivan". A few moments later she turned back to him with a slightly odd look on her face. "Dodger?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's me," the canine replied, noticing the odd look. Of course it's not every day that you meet a person with that kind of a name.

"Alright, you're on the list so you're already set." She then handed him a slim metal card and even slimmer, though larger, piece of technology.

It had a metallic appearance with nothing on it except a screen covering almost the whole front side and the ACF logo printed on the back. "That card is the key to your room which you'll be sharing with two others, and that device is your own PIC (Personal Information Codex). Your schedule is already saved on it and will be accessible when you pass your entrance examination. It will also keep you updated with all activities and other goings on at the academy each year. You can also use it for class work for completing it and handing it in."

"Jeez, it's like she's delivered this speech a hundred times," Dodger thought to himself. But since he was the polite type all that came out of his mouth was a generous, "Thank you" and he set of to the dormitories to find his room and possibly his roommates as well.

Once again, Dodger was left to roam the large expanse of the campus. He took the time to glance up at the imposing buildings surrounding him their peaks just touching the sky, or so it seemed. Even with his previous visits, Dodger was still blown away by the massive size of the academy and how long it might take him to establish a route for himself once classes had commenced.

Focusing back on the path ahead of him, he peered up at the building closest to him. It was littered with windows all along its sides each with a balcony hanging out over the ground below. Not nearly as high as the central structure, this building still raised high above the other ones in the city. It also had another building beside it containing all the same features. Seeing some people on some of the balconies of them, Dodger assumed that these were the dormitories, one for boys and the other for girls.

Realizing that he was getting closer to them, Dodger took out his key card and examined the room number engraved onto it. "211A," he read aloud. Putting it away he finally entered the designated building and, brimming with curiosity, looked around.

There were two elevators at the back wall of the main room with a set of stairs beside each. To the left of the entrance was a small office, probably used for key card replacements or serving as a simple information desk. Near the centre of the room there were various couches in chairs in which some of the students were already gladly using. Other than that, the room seemed quite basic for an apartment complex, putting aside the fact that almost every wall had "ACF" tattooed on it in large and very noticeable font.

"Wow, you'd think the staff would think the students would keep forgetting where they are," Dodger thought to himself. "I know this isn't a gifted school but it's not kindergarten either."

Dodger dragged his feet to one of the elevators not filled to the brim with occupants and hit the "A" floor. The doors closed with a light ring and the elevator rising up was felt. As the elevator was approaching his designated floor, the canine gazed out through the transparent walls of the elevator and down at the campus below.

Though the elevator was moving quickly, there was still enough time for Dodger to think back to how he got to where he was now.

"Mom," Dodger shouted up the stairs. "Dad I'm heading out now!"

He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye first. Pre-registration was finished and all the paperwork had been completed, much to his parents' relief. They had already discussed and talked over everything and the hostility and tension was beginning to fade. The Sullivans had toured the academy and got familiar with its atmosphere and overall functionality as a school. With long meetings with the principal and higher level staff Dodger's parents had finally caved in and agreed to let him enroll.

His mother was the most hard to convince because she was the stubborn one of the three and was the key source to where Dodger had inherited his ability to never abandon a certain subject that he was focused on. It was her indecision that kept her at home and without a job as she was constantly changing her mind on things. However, nothing could change her mind on this. Even though the past wars of the Lylat System had ended with Dodger's childhood, she still was reluctant to let him be a part of something that could potentially keep them separated-permanently.

His father was another concern entirely. He wasn't one for war and especially was against the notion of becoming one in the ranks of his planet's military. He was the one who was indoors and left things unrelated to him alone. He was a science professor at Coneria's most prestigious university and always badgered Dodger to take an interest in the sciences, he was always joking of course. When the news of dodger wanting to join the military, it put him through major stress, as it would any other parent, but there was something in the Sullivan family that helped make it worse.

His father, Dodger's grandfather, was one of the soldiers serving the Cornerian army during the time of the Aparoid invasion. He was a member of one of the flight squadron's that had assisted the legendary Star Fox team when they had attempted to go through the Orbital Gate leading to the Aparoid's home world. Unfortunately, he had been shot down trying to save one of his teammates, another soldier who went down in the line of duty. Dodger wasn't even born yet. They had pictures, but Dodger still dreamt of what it would be like to meet him in person.

A tall and lean German Sheppard came swiftly down the stairs with a smaller Siberian Husky trailing in his wake. "We're comin', we're comin' there's no need to just ditch us at the doorstep," the Sheppard responded.

"I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye to you guys," Dodger retorted.

"Well you sure sounded like you were ready to leave in a matter of seconds," his father replied smiling back at him.

"Well I am ready to go in seconds," Dodger said and smiled.

"If you so much as left without any goodbyes, I would have followed you right to the academy and given you the biggest damn hug you've ever gotten from me right in front of everyone," the Husky threatened.

Dodger chuckled and said, "Mom, why else would I have given the warning that I was leaving?"

The Husky sighed. "I know it's just..." she began to choke up. "It'll be so long before I see you again and what you're going into..."

"Elizabeth," his father said. "We've had this discussion already; you know there isn't anything that can change his mind."

Dodger put his bag on the ground and placed a hand on his mother's shoulder. "The academy isn't that far from home," he said. "I can still visit when I'm not busy with classes, and did you forget about the holidays? I'll still be here for a while Mom."

Small tears were beginning to form in the corners of his mother's eyes. "You already know it but i still can't help but say it," she said. "I love you, I always will and I'll never stop not even whe-"

"Mom, please stop," Dodger knew where she would go with this and before he could cause her any more sorrow he tried to turn the conversation to a lighter tone. "All the sappiness is going to get me going."

Elizabeth smiled at this and had begun to laugh. "Oh, I'm sorry but you've known me for seventeen years now, you should've learned to expect this from me."

"Yeah," Dodger chuckled. "I promise that I will visit though, you can hold me to that."

"Don't worry, I will," she replied.

At this time, Dodger noticed that his father had remained silent for the whole conversation with a grave look etched in his features. He then opened the front door and signaled Dodger to step out onto the porch. Dodger turned back towards Elizabeth and she nodded at him.

He stepped outside and saw his father standing there looking out into the distance that grave look still on his face. Dodger closed the door behind him and put himself beside his father.

"Dodger," he said, still looking in the same direction.

"Anthony," Dodger replied, slightly mockingly by using his father's first name.

"So are you sure you're not looking to follow the sciences at all?" he asked, a grin slowing creeping across his face.

"Oh, don't you even," Dodger shot back before they both burst out into a fit of laughter.

When their fit of hysteria subsided, Dodger's father regained that grave look again, although this time it seemed to have been brightened slightly. "Well, if this is what you really want then I know that there's no possible way to change your mind."

"Dad I-"

"No Dodge, don't say anything. I know you've heard us whine and moan about this for some time and both you and I have our reasons to why you should and shouldn't go. I realize that it's time for you to grow up and choose your own path in life and I'm proud that you've managed to discover yours so soon and so independently, just like he did."

Dodger's ears perked up when Anthony's last words were said. He knew immediately he was talking about his grandfather and how odd it must seem to him that the roles had been reversed. The son was the one leaving the father this time to go to serve their system and protect all of its inhabitants.

"I wanted to give this to you," Anthony said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a decorative war pin that Dodger recognized all too well.

It was of an older design. It still bore the symbol of the Cornerian Forces enclosed in a circle with two large white feathery wings stretching out from either side showing that this was a pin for the soldiers that fought in the skies.

"Granddad's old war pin?" Dodger seemed confused. Why did he receive this? He hadn't even officially gotten into the academy yet.

"For decoration," his father answered. "Think of it as motivation for the exam and a nice trinket to put on display in your room."

"Did you just say trinket?" Dodger laughed.

"I suppose I did, you know how I am with old fashioned words."

Returning his focus, Dodger smiled at his present. "Thanks Dad, this means a lot to me, you really don't know how much it does."

"Oh I have a fair clue," he said, returning the smile. With that said they both stayed quiet for what seemed to be minutes until his father led him back inside.

Picking up his duffel bag and slinging it across his shoulder, Dodger surveyed his house one last time. "It's going to be different," he said, "not waking up each morning to see this."

"Yes and just because you're not under our roof anymore that doesn't mean you can just do whatever," his mother said. "That school has lots of rules that you need to follow or else you're back on this doorstep."

Dodger just wore a bid toothy grin on his face long enough for his mother to succumb to its curse as she started to wear her own smile on her face as well. He and his mother embraced each other in one of their signature death hugs while Anthony just stood beside them chuckling.

"I'll miss you guys so much," he said. "And a day won't go by that I won't think of you even if it's for a few seconds."

Dodger and his mother detached and he turned to his father giving him a firm but gentle handshake. "Good luck out there kiddo," Anthony said.

Dodger grimaced. "Didn't we discuss this Dad? You're not supposed to call me that, but- thanks."

Giving his father's hand one last good shake he let go and headed put the door towards his car. He threw his supplies into the back, climbed into the front seat, and started the engine. The thruster's on the bottom of the car roared to life as it rose slightly off the ground blue flames licking the pavement below. The HUD display on the dashboard in front of Dodger lit up signifying that everything was a go. Satisfied with the set up, Dodger leaned out the window and gave-what he hoped to be- his final goodbyes.

"I'll be seeing you around," he cried out his window waving to him. "Try not to visit me too often and ruin my already deteriorating reputation okay?"

"Just for that you can count on us waiting outside your dorm everyday!" his mother joked in response.

Anthony stood there just wearing his signature smile but Dodger could see through that and make out the firm lines of concern etched into his face. Nevertheless his father still waved from the porch without speaking.

Dodger then put the window back up and shifted the car into reverse. Once on the road he sped off out of their street and neighbourhood and eventually merging with the main traffic of the city. It took all of Dodger's strength not to take one final glance at his home, the home that he may be leaving forever.

The sound of the elevator reaching its destination was what snapped Dodger out of his daze. The two metal doors slid open and Dodger made his way down the wide hallways eyeing each door hoping it would match up with his card.

It took him a few doors but he eventually found it. "211A," he said. He slid his card through the slot and with a beep of approval, he entered his new home.


	2. Chapter 2: Abberton

Chapter 2: Abberton

Dodger set his bags down once more as his eyes scanned the room for any signs of activity. All that he could see was what looked like a living room. There was one window in the room, the sunlight from outside streaming into the dorm and creating a yellow patch onto the floor below. There was a couch and some chairs on the wall opposite to him and a small steel table with one mug sitting on its surface, the steam rising from its brim.

"Someone's here," Dodger muttered to himself.

He saw two doors, one on either side of the room most likely leading to bedrooms. He heard some barely audible sounds coming from the left door so he decided to investigate. Picking up his bag, he made his way over to it.

It was slightly ajar, and through the crack Dodger could see someone sitting one of the two beds the room had to offer. The figure appeared reptilian, but Dodger couldn't determine the species. He seemed to be typing furiously away at something on a laptop and judging by his actions and behaviour he sounded frantic.

"Come on, come on!" he said. "Just a few more encryptions..."

"Uh, hello?" Dodger called out to the figure.

At that moment the figure snapped his attention away from his private business and turned to Dodger's direction with a jump, a look of pure shock and surprise stuck on his face.

"SWEET DATA PODS!" he said loudly. "Did you ever think that if someone's back is turned to you, their focus pertaining only to their work and oblivious to all other surroundings, it wouldn't be such a good idea to just call out to them?"

During the reptile's overly dramatic explanation on how not to greet someone, Dodger could now see that it was a crocodile that was typing away so ferociously on the mobile mini computer. His whole body was enveloped in dark green scales save for the lighter green ones covering his front side, all reflecting the light from the laptop right back into Dodger's eyes.

"Sorry I should have knocked," he apologized, hand over his eyes. "I have a bad habit of forgetting simple things like that." He sidled to the other side of the room so that his view wouldn't be obstructed by the laptop's light that was enhanced by the crocodile's excessively reflective scales.

Now that his vision had partially returned, he could see the true size of the crocodile that was before him. According to Dodgers' sight he had to be seven feet at least, and must have weighed well over two hundred pounds easy. Although it wasn't fat that made up those two hundred pounds, it was the muscle. His large arms were crossed over his wide chest each bicep clearly defined underneath the thin brown T-shirt he was wearing. His neck was also quite bulky with an equally as large head sitting atop of his broad shoulders. The crocodile lowered his hefty head down to meet Dodger's eye to eye with his own piercing Dodger's, filled with an irritated glare.

"Oh my," Dodger said, taking one wary step back for good measure. "I am s-so sorry I- didn't m-mean to do that." Finally, where Dodger felt he was out of the croc's potential kill zone he said, "Please don't hit me."

The crocodile suddenly recoiled from the comment, a look of shame suddenly rushing across his features. He put his head in-again-and equally gargantuan set of hands. "Aw damn it all, I did it again didn't I?" he said his voice coming out muffled from behind his monstrous palms. He sat back down on the bed, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "I always freak people out because of that, I didn't mean to do that; I really didn't. And don't worry I'm not going to be the person to cause you bodily harm, I'm a pacifist."

"You're a what?" Dodger lowered his hands that he was currently using to shield his face and stared at the crocodile, not able to believe what he had just heard.

"A pacifist?" he repeated, an amused grin creeping over his features. "You know; a person against all forms of violence? Completing conflict resolution through peaceful and civil negotiations?"

Dodger still just stood rooted to the spot a mixture of surprise and disbelief on his face. Not wanting to cause an awkward situation to grow even more awkward, the crocodile outstretched his hand towards Dodger, a friendly smile played across his face.

"Looks like we got off on the wrong, uh, hand? Wrong paw? Oh you know what I mean." Dodger took the crocodile's hand and shook it, surprised by the gentleness of the reptile's grip, as he introduced himself. "I'm Jensen," he said. "Jensen Abberton."

"Dodger, Dodger Sullivan."

"Dodger huh?" Jensen responded. "Never heard that name before but," he turned back towards his laptop, "there's a first time for everything."

The familiar sound of typing had resurfaced and Dodger was left there again all attention devoid from him. He looked around the room one more time and saw that Jensen had already unpacked his things and situated to be what Dodger suspected to be as close to Jensen's old life as possible. Judging by all the clothes strewn about the room and abundant amounts of tech that Dodger couldn't identify, he could safely classify Jensen as one of those "unkempt people" and maybe even a "techie" or "geek" though by surveying the reptile's build he wouldn't admit that to him in person.

"Oh and feel free to make yourself at home anywhere," Jensen called over his shoulder, "unless you'd rather stay in the opposite bedroom on the other side of the dorm."

"You do know that we still have an entrance exam to pass first right?" Dodger said. "This dorm isn't even guaranteed to be yours until the examination's finished."

Jensen pulled his attention away from the computer once again. He looked up at Dodger with and blushed, sprouting a nervous smile. He then putting a hand behind his head to scratch his claws against the back ridges of his spine, a nasty habit he had gained whenever he was embarrassed. "Well I-I don't want to seem like an arrogant ass, but, I have high hopes for passing that exam; based on my past experience with other examinations. So, since I'm here I may as well make myself at home now and get the unpacking out of the way."

Dodger suddenly felt a sort of respect for the confidence and honesty coming out of Jensen, especially when they were coming from the kind of person that doesn't look like they have any sort of time for honesty. "That's a good thought to hold onto," he said. "What are you doing anyway?"

"Well, if you must know, I'm trying to hack into the school's security," Jensen replied, a sly grin on his face.

Dodger became alarmed at the sudden response Jensen gave. He peered suspiciously into Jensen's features looking for any sign of that last comment being some form of a joke. "Why do that?"

"Just to gain access to the school's cameras, take a look around the school in the comfort of my bed, have multiple eyes watching everywhere. You know, for pure recreation of course. I may love my studies but even I can't resist a little mischief."

At this point Dodger was very concerned about this Abberton character being in the same room as him, but there was something about him that made Dodger stay. It was probably that admiration he had for Jensen's honesty and the fact that Jensen started laughing.

"Oh I'm kidding, I'm kidding that's not me," he said. "What I am trying to do is to sync my computer with the schools' but seeing as this one I have is an older model it's really difficult. So I've resorted to more...simple methods. But please don't tell anyone I'm doing this I don't want to have to go home because of something as this."

Dodger's muscles lost their tenseness as his whole body felt a wave of relaxation. Regaining his composure, he started prodding him with more normal sounding questions. "Why do you keep that one? Why not upgrade?" he suggested. There were no more "solid" computers that were used anymore. Most were just holograms with an active touch screen which Dodger admitted to being much more easy to use. He never had been too skilled with older technologies and wasn't exactly the tech master himself with these new ones either.

"I just love the classics," Jensen said giving his laptop a few pats.

With that, Dodger threw his bag to the foot of the adjacent bed and leapt onto it. Laying his head down into the pillow, he crossed his legs and put his arms behind his head relieved to finally lie down. He was up all morning since six o'clock filled with both excitement and anxiety. Now after he had arrived, and especially after meeting Jensen, that anxiety seemed to start slipping away.

"Are you nervous at all for the exam yourself?" Jensen asked, closing his laptop and putting it away.

"A little I guess," Dodger responded. "But then again, isn't everyone who's writing it?"

Jensen nodded. "Besides you of course," Dodger added staring back at him. This got a laugh out of both of them and they started to further develop their relations by discussing why they came here and what they planned to do if they were accepted into the academy.

"It's really not all that interesting on how I managed to wind up here," Jensen said. "I guess it was my Dad always badgering me to do something besides sit around and do nothing but play with my 'gadgets and thing-a-ma-jigs.'"

Dodger chuckled. "Wow did he really call them that?"

"More then you know. Let's just say he wasn't too concerned about intellect and focused more on the physical parts of life. So seeing me as I am, it's not hard to believe why he would want me to work on other things then what I was doing. He thought the military would be a perfect choice and talked to me about it and seeing all the options I could take; I did end up agreeing with him. Imagine his disappointment when I said I was trying to get into the research department of the academy. After all, I do have an ever growing passion for the sciences."

Dodger cringed a little in mock disgust of the word "sciences" and Jensen easily noticed. "What you don't enjoy exploring the vast amounts of elements that make up the universe? How about the processes of life itself? What about determining the speed of a person going from one area to another if the distance between those points is 20 km and the person is walking 8n km/h..."

While Jensen continued his psychic explanation, his face full of ecstasy, Dodger just shook his head. "Sorry, I'm still trying to get over the fact that a seven foot tall, 200 pound muscle bound crocodile aims to become the next genius of the entire system. I'll leave all of the heavy thinking to you in that respect."

Jensen just shrugged his shoulders. "Don't tease; I'm not aiming that high. Well, whatever suits your interests. Okay your turn."

Dodger took a deep breath and began to explain. He had always preferred solidarity than anything else and had no trouble being on his own. It was because of this that he never really knew anyone that he became attached to in any way except for his parents. His family was quite distant and Dodger knew almost none of them too well. He could never discover if it was bad relations between family members or if it was just the way life was playing out for the Sullivans.

"Well if you'll believe it," Dodger started, "I've always had the notion to join even when I was young. Maybe it just ran in my blood, after all, my grandfather did the same thing. My dad had told me that like me, his father always felt he needed to protect people. He was shot down during the battle of the Orbital Gate during the Aparoid Invasion, so I never really got to meet him. He doesn't even know me..."

After Dodger had finished reminiscing he looked back over at Jensen whose face was set hard like stone. The room then became silent as Jensen attempted to formulate some kind of response. "Wow," he said, his voice breaking the deathly quiet atmosphere. "I never would have guessed. It sure beats my reasons for coming here."

"Hate to say it," Dodger replied, his voice becoming shaky, "but you did ask."

"That I did, that I did."

"You shouldn't think much about it though," Dodger said. "It feels kind of good in a way, to tell someone about it, you know?"

"I think your grandfather would have backed you up on all of your decisions to come here, without question," Jensen said. Dodger looked up at Jensen and saw his face firm and full of that earlier determination. "And he would be very proud of you for making those tough choices whether you thought they were easy to make or not."

Dodger finally felt better than he had before when he talked about this. To have someone tell him to keep going and to say how his grandfather would wish the same success for him was enough to send Dodger into a state of pure exuberance. However, being in the fatigued state that he was, that excited feeling didn't last too long. "Yeah, maybe..." Dodger's thoughts began to trail off into more distant places as his mind started to close in around those thoughts slowing pushing out all else that was going on around him. He closed his eyes and let his mind take control as he sailed more and more towards his past memories.

Jensen could see that Dodger needed some rest so he cleared up most of his items and quietly slipped out of their room to give Dodger some peace. He crept slowly over to the couch in the main room and placed his laptop on to the small metallic table. Jensen picked up the mug of coffee he had set down on the table earlier and brought the warm substance to his lips.

He took a small sip feeling it flow down into his stomach, warming every part of him on the way down. Before reactivating his computer, Jensen contemplated what Dodger had told him in their room.

"He sounded a little on edge while he was talking," he thought to himself. "But even so, he doesn't seem afraid of what's going to happen later on after graduation. I'm sure some people aren't afraid of their future's either but..."

Jensen took another sip of coffee to have the warm feeling return. His hands shook a little causing some of the liquid to spill over the edge and land with a soft *plop* on the table. Thinking so much about Dodger's words was enough to send a cold, uneasy shiver crashing throughout his body.

"Oh it's probably nothing, he just got here of course he's going to start getting a big case of the nerves. I'm just over analyzing things again as usual."

With that, Jensen relaxed a little more into the soft material of the couch and took one more sip of coffee.

A few hours later, Jensen opened the door a crack and peered in, which allowed the sunlight coming through the large window in the main room to come and illuminate the contents of the bedroom also lighting up Dodger's sleeping figure.

Jensen strolled over to the bed and gently shook Dodger hoping to rouse him to wake. "Hey Dodger?" he whispered. "You have to get up now."

Dodger blinked his eyes a few times and sat up slowly, scratching the back of his head. "How long was I out?" he asked lazily.

"About 2 hours," Jensen answered, "I'm sorry to get you up, but the enlisters have to attend a mandatory meeting soon. That means us."

Dodger's ears perked up suddenly aware of the situation. "Oh that's right! How could I have let myself fall asleep! Great, now I'm going to look and act so groggy and ruin my overall first impressions with the faculty."

Jensen laughed a little and patted him on the back. 'Easy, easy, you're beginning to sound as paranoid as I usually am. Besides I'm sure you weren't the only one to doze off after arriving here and I think the real first impressions count only after you've written and passed the entrance exam. So you can spaz out about it then."

Dodger quickly got out of bed and smoothed out his clothes, hoping to look at least slightly presentable and did a quick rundown with Jensen.

"Do we need anything?" he asked.

"Your room key obviously," Jensen said, "and I would bring your PIC if I were you, just to be cautious."

Not wanting to take any chances, Dodger grabbed the aforementioned device and quickly slid it into one of his pockets, still amazed at how slick and small the device was. Taking a few deep breaths Dodger and Jensen both left the room shutting the door tightly behind them.

Dodger took a few steps forward and looked through the clear glass walls of the dorm's hallways the central building of the academy standing before him, their next destination. Nerves were wreaking havoc on Dodger's body as he kept gawking at the structure's sheer majesty. After a few more intensive exhales, Dodger tore his sight away from it and confidently strode to the elevator doors Jensen following in his wake.

Before the elevator doors opened Jensen grabbed Dodger's shoulders and spun him around to look at him. "Back there in the dorm? I meant all of it, you know that right?" Dodger merely smiled and gave him a curt nod before stepping into the elevators, one step closer to that building, and one more closer to his future.


	3. Chapter 3: An Official Welcome

Chapter 3: An Official Welcome

Dodger and Jensen both travelled through the great dual doors leading to the interior of the central building. Both were trembling with fear, knowing exactly what would happen, but how it was going to play out. They joined with a larger crowd of youths who were all gravitating towards another set of doors as one large entity.

The holographic sign atop of the doors, displayed by neon letters read: Assembly Hall One. The doors automatically swung open allowing the swarming mass of adolescents safe passage.

"This is feeling more and more like a regular university more than anything," Dodger muttered, softly enough for only him and Jensen to hear. "I didn't expect all this effort to go into something like this." He sighed, not in disappointment, but in frustration that his expectations had been betrayed.

"Well, this is the finest that Corneria has to offer its enrollers," Jensen replied as-a-matter-of-factly. "Besides, I wouldn't dwell on this scene too much. I expect that they'll replace it with a much crueler and unforgiving environment in the coming years."

Dodger once again had to shake his head at the unbelievable figure that was, Jensen. Dodger would soon begin to notice a pattern with Jensen. He'll seem to attempt to lighten up the ever dimming mood and when he succeeds at times, it will only come crashing down when his own worries were thrown into the chaotic mix.

"Well," Dodger said, glancing over at Jensen, "crunch time."

Jensen nodded and they both staggered, due to the overwhelming amount of young adults that were surrounding them, into the dome-shaped hall. They found a few seats available and sank into them, relieved to be off their feet again as laziness had taken over their bodies.

The hall itself looked as any other one should. The whole of the hall looked like the top half of a sphere where one side was lined with seemingly endless rows of chairs accompanied by the stairs leading to them. The other half held a large stage that lacked a podium. There were speakers surrounding the room and one large screen hanging above the stage. At the back of the hall a camera could be seen attached to the ceiling. "Probably for everyone to actually see the faces of the people speaking," Dodger thought. Dodger was going to ask Jensen about that, but he had other questions that easily dominated that inquiry.

Curious, he looked over to Jensen and asked the seemingly infinite pool of knowledge, "Who's going to be giving the presentation?"

Jensen, who was very grateful to give out more of that knowledge, responded, "Well, my most educated guess is for it to be one of the important members of the faculty, someone of high standing, maybe one of our future instructors."

"Do you think the General will show up?" Dodger wondered.

Jensen snapped his head towards Dodger with a look that made Dodger feel like he was some insane mental patient being gawked at. "Are you kidding?" he answered. "That man? The most respected and the most important figure in the entirety of Corneria if not the whole Lylat System itself? I wouldn't bet too much on his appearance to an assembly welcoming the 'fresh meat'."

That's when it occurred to Dodger. His eyes swept across all the occupied seats of the hall. They were all filled, all of them containing new arrivals, just like Dodger. It was then that Dodger fully realized how big this thing he was getting into was. The reality of it all began to fill his mind to its very corners.

Jensen, however, was too busy guessing who the host of this assembly was to notice Dodger's dismay. And because of this, he instantly noticed the two panels of the floor of the stage begin to separate from one another. Rising from his chair in alarm, he quickly turned to Dodger and drew him out of his slight daze.

"Dodger look, the stage!" he cried out.

Turning his view towards it he could see an object slowly rising from the depths of the newly formed hole in the stage's surface. The entire hall grew quiet save for a few mumblings that were pondering what it could be. Their theories were soon put to rest as the object was soon identified as a podium, the logo of ACF embroidered onto its front, visible for all to see.

"Well there's another question answered," Dodger thought to himself. Situated behind the podium was a tall, lean, red-furred fox, a look of mischief and excitement flashing in his eyes, the notorious expression of his species. All his features were visible thanks to the camera projecting the image onto the screen so everyone could see that unsettling look.

The microphone attached to the podium produced a few blunt noises, as the vulpine gave it a few good taps to check its functionality. Satisfied with what he heard, the fox took a deep breath and as he exhaled, words of welcome came with it.

"Welcome all to the Academy for Cornerian Forces!" his powerful voice was only amplified more by the overabundance of speakers that relayed his greeting more and more throughout the hall. "I am very glad to see so many of you here today and glad also, that you have made the very difficult choices you had to make and sacrificed many things in coming here. Such actions are ones to be admired and I am here to do just that." There was a slight sarcasm in his voice that was barely noticeable, that sent the teens into a confused state, silently debating if he was mocking their actions or actually admiring them. The vulpine took this time to survey the room eyeing each and every body it contained. This was made worse by the screen, as it looked as if only his eyes were occupying it corner to corner. As they passed over Dodger's area he felt as if they were staring directly at him. He glanced over to Jensen and he looked as if he felt the same way.

"I am Sergeant Donovan who will be one of your many superiors during your humble stay here with us." As he said this, the one corner of his mouth twisted into a smirk clearly visible on the overhead display above, the sarcasm now fully evident in his voice. However, that smirk had instantly vanished and was replaced by a thin, firm line that ran from one edge of his maw to the next. "Although, these will not be the most enjoyable few years you have ahead of you and are not to be taken lightly. We realize you have yet to even complete your examinations, but that won't stop us from drilling you every moment we have as if you were already an attendee.

"I do realize that this assembly was not called for you to show up and become threatened by your possible future, but for you to bask in the glorious few moments of fun education you'll have offered to you. So for this, I call upon you to rise for our most honoured leader."

"No way..." Jensen repeatedly shook his head in disbelief.

Dodger couldn't believe what had been said either, but their repudiation was proven false as the vulpine stepped aside from his position at the podium. After he had moved, another platform had ascended to the stage carrying with it the leader of the entire Cornerian army. It was the esteemed bloodhound himself, General Pepper.

A hush had fallen over the assembly's audience; even the talkative ones from before had silenced their earlier ramblings. It was amidst this silence that the general stepped forward to his place at the podium, and formally addressed all the new recruits with his instantly recognizable and commanding voice.

"Hello everyone! I am grateful to see so many faces staring back at mine today. This fuels my beliefs that all of have come here for the same common goal that every man and woman here at the academy hope to accomplish; the continuous protection of the Lylat System and its entire people! I myself need no introduction as I'm sure you've all come to know me over the years. I wish I could stay and describe in great detail with you all that just your registrations have done for us, but in my position, free time is scarcely available. However, during my short time here I can tell you what to expect during your stay here.

"I believe that you already know the basics to how this academy operates. We will expect the completion of the entrance exam, in order for you to continue your schooling here, but don't worry! This exam is simple and those with any shred of common sense and ability can easily complete it." He chuckled at this which got the whole hall laughing softly. Just like his inspirational speeches Dodger had always watched, even the general's laughter could influence a crowd to follow him in his actions.

"Your exam will consist of two parts, the first: a written portion. This will be done in the classrooms on the east side of the campus. The written portion will contain a total of one hundred multiple choice questions, all of which will test your potential future abilities on the field. Again, do not worry; there really isn't a wrong answer, only that some choices are much better than others. Your choices will help to determine your quality on the field and what position you might best be suited for, though the choice is still all your own.

"The next portion will be the physical examination." Dodger could see through his peripherals that Jensen instantly tensed up. "This will follow a brief but thorough medical examination to see if you're both physically and mentally able to complete this test and if it is safe for you to continue your training here. The physical exam will simply test your abilities to react to orders and to showcase your physical prowess."

The general remained silent for a moment before resuming his speech. "Well that appears to be all that this assembly was called for. Now, if you would please return to your dorms at this time. Be prepared for the written portion in two days time and the physical the following day. And now I will leave you with wishing you good luck and that I will be looking forward to seeing you in future years."

"Brief was right," Dodger said to himself. He and Jensen had joined the masses of recruits back to their dorms once the presentation finished. Dodger was holding onto his PIC with a small morsel of disappointment. "So much for using this thing."

As the two companions were making the trek back to their humble dwelling, Dodger continued his attempt to shut out Jensen's constant droning. "That was completely unreal! I never expected that out of all the people that could have hosted the assembly _the_ General Pepper himself chose to! And of all the ones to guess who would be giving the presentation, you were the one to guess it! No offense I mean, I don't think you're unable to guess anything and get it right; it's just so unlikely that the general himself would show up to greet people like us! Not that we're bad people or anything it's just something that you wouldn't expect! Do you think he saw me? Do I look like the type that's ready to work with him? Oh no, what if he doesn't approve of my choice? I mean, I could see why, but if he doesn't like me that means all my efforts to try my best will all be wasted! Oh what I am I gonna do now!?"

Before Jensen could give himself an aneurism, Dodger interjected his constant spouting of exuberance and despair. "I really wouldn't worry too much about what he thinks of your choice, and yes it was pretty amazing that he managed to show up. Let's just take things slowly, one at a time. Let's talk about the exam."

Jensen, upon hearing those last words performed that same action that Dodger saw him do while in the assembly hall. Every muscle in his body seemed to tighten; the veins usually hidden underneath his smooth, thick scales became well defined around his neck. All of that green surrounding him; light and dark, appeared to be flushed from his face, which was devoid of any emotion itself. All except for one; fear.

Instantly regretting bringing up the subject, Dodger tried to get Jensen to come back to their grip of reality. "Jensen? Hello?" he called out to his friend. The crocodile failed to relay him a response.

Worried that Jensen was completely out of it, the canine commenced thinking of ways to snap him out of his delusion. Suddenly an idea popped into his head. Putting on a false voice of panic, Dodger turned to Jensen and yelled as loud as he could: "JENSEN! YOUR COMPUTER'S CRAHSED!" It worked.

Dodger had to take many cautious steps away to avoid being knocked out by one of Jensen's madly flailing arms. "SON OF A CIRCUIT, NOT AGAIN! ALL OF MY DATA WILL BE GONE FOREVER!"

"Does he really use technology as swears?" Dodger thought.

It took a few minutes to for Jensen to return to normal and figure out that his precious laptop was still safely packed away in their room awaiting his return. "So," Dodger said once the reptile regained his composure and wasn't acting with any more unintended hostility, "you mind explaining to me why the mentioning of the exams was enough to almost send you into a coma?"

Giving a heavy sigh, Jensen began to explain, the uneasiness still audible in his voice. "I may not be as confident as I was for the exams now compared to before in the dorm room."

"Why's that?" Dodger asked. "You seemed so sure that you would breeze right through them. What's different now?"

Jensen started to fiddle with his fingers and his irises started nervously darting around in his retinas. "You know about the two parts of the exam? Well-yeah, the last part I'm not looking forward to with much excitement."

"You're kidding me right?" Jensen looked back at Dodger, surprised by his small outburst. "Have you even looked at yourself lately? Why would you even be the slightest bit worried about anything like that?"

"Just because I look this way doesn't mean I can just perform perfect in every sort of physical test they'll throw at me," Jensen retorted. "The only reason I've ended up in this shape is mainly due to my genes and the fact that my dad constantly drove me to do some form of exercise at least once a day. And believe me; I was far from enjoying it." The reptile was breathing heavier then, as he regained that menacing flash in his eyes. It quickly vanished and was replaced by his notorious scratching of his spine. "I just-what if I mess up during it or I do something really klutzy? What would they think of me then? I look like I can do all this, no sweat, and that's what they'll probably expect of me to do, and if I don't meet those standards..."

Dodger silenced the crocodile once more with the interjectory raise of his hand. "Didn't we already have this conversation?" he asked. "I thought I said you shouldn't be worrying about his opinions on your own choices. If he was going to judge us on our choices as harshly as you say he might, then what the hell was the point in giving us the freedom to?"

Jensen's tenseness departed once again after Dodger gave his short, but meaningful advice. "I better not have to do this for him all the time, I'll run out of motivational mini speeches before the week is over," he thought to himself. He guided Jensen back on the path to their room since Jensen was still a little unstable on his feet.

"I've really got to get myself under control," Jensen muttered, to no one in particular. The more they approached the residential buildings, the more the reptile's pace improved, going from the slow dragging of his feet to a more fluent stepping motion.

At last, the twin peaks of residence loomed above them, blocking out almost all of the sun's rays, trapping them in a dark shadow. Since the two became quickly side tracked with Jensen's breakdowns every other body present had fled to the comfort of their own rooms leaving Dodger and Jensen outside alone, both at the mercy of the ever growing umbra.

Both of them didn't speak as they made the final stage of their return journey. The talk of exams seemed to have made a lasting impact on not only Jensen, but on Dodger as well. Part of that was how careful Dodger had to be about saying the word itself when the crocodile was near him. This canine could only handle so many paranoid reptiles a day. And even though the general assured all recruits of how simple a task this was, that wasn't enough to keep Dodger's own nerves in check.

Jensen was able to walk on his own now, his mind completely cleansed of the "e" word. He meticulously ran through his mind more soothing thoughts of his tech collection so as to keep that-which-will-not-be-named out of it; for the moment at best.

They entered the lobby, which was also barren and devoid of any life, save for the exotic plants set carefully around the room to brighten up the otherwise dull design of the main floor. This set Dodger one step closer to doing a miniature rant.

"Oh yeah," Dodger said sarcastically, eyeing the room's unfitting decor, "this is how things should look." Then, putting on a voice that mocked the many advertisements displayed on television depicting the school, Dodger said in his most formal voice, "Here at the Academy for Cornerian Forces, we strongly believe that through hard and vigorous physical training, mental stimulation, and appreciating foreign flora, anyone has the ability to become-well, I say floral admiration because even we don't know what our goals as a school are anymore."

This got Jensen almost on the floor from laughter, and that almost caused the same reaction from Dodger as well as he struggled to get a hold of his emotions.

"You can get kicked for saying things like that you know," Jensen warned between laughs as he called down an elevator.

"I needed something to take both of our minds off of things," Dodger replied. "And seeing the way you reacted, I'd say I did a pretty good job of it."

"Just promise me you won't do anything else that'll jeopardize your stay here. You're the first one here who I've managed to actually interact with, and if you left-"

"Hey, hey we're not going back to that again, come on." He led Jensen into the elevator as it arrived and selected their floor. As it rode the levels to their destination Dodger glared out through the transparent glass of the elevator onto the campus grounds below. "I'm not leaving; nothing's stopping me from finishing all three years here. Nothing."

Jensen almost flinched at Dodger's new found determination and bravado. "Just like me back at the dorm," he thought.

The elevator halted its ascent and the dual doors separated revealing to the two the familiar hallway leading back to that same door, only with one major difference; it was open. Seeing this from afar, Dodger began to increase his speed to their room, the crack in the door becoming more and more prominent as he got closer.

He quickly swung open the door and strode inside and almost collided right into the figure that was standing inside.


	4. Steiz

At this point, Dodger had prepared himself to be ready for anyone or anything that had infiltrated his dorm room. So it really didn't surprise him to find a bat around his age and stature, idling in the central room sipping a cup of coffee.

The bat's ears perked up when he heard the sound of Dodger bursting through the door using an over excessive amount of force. The bat reluctantly pulled his attention away from his soothing beverage to focus on this new character that had almost landed face first at his feet after almost breaking down the door.

"Um," the bat began, sounding slightly confused at this new found situation, "can I...help you?"

Dodger quickly stabilized himself from his close encounter with the floor and stared into the bat's luminescent yellow eyes as if hoping to find all of the answers to his questions in there. Pointing an accusing finger at the bat, the canine rapidly blurted out, "Who are you and what are you doing here?!"

The bat was coated in black fur save for the patch of brown that surrounded the inside of his neck and his hefty ears had risen to a perfect ninety degrees in alarm. His two fangs could just be seen on his frowning mouth both gleaming when they caught the light of the sun coming in from the window.

The bat then put on an even bigger look of confusion, as if the answer was so obvious. "I'm here because I'm registered to be here?" The tone of voice he put on made Dodger twitch with anger.

"No, no," Dodger spat out, "why are you in this room!?"

Now the bat could see that Dodger was just as confused as he was and not a total moron. But that meant nothing to stop him from poking a little fun at the canine. "Okay look," the bat began, "you obviously don't have a big enough brain to figure out that when someone says that they're registered, it means they're assigned a room. When they're assigned a room, they go to that room and that's where they stay for the three years they're here for. You did attend the meeting right?"

Dodger quickly dropped his pointed finger and took a few deep breaths to calm down. "I'm sorry," he replied, "it just came as a shock that some random person was in my...our room."

"I look like a student don't I?" the bat asked sarcastically. "And I couldn't have gotten in unless I had this key card," he said, waving the aforementioned device in front of the canine's visage, "so why did it come as that big of a shock?"

Dodger's internal rage was returning due to the flying rodent's brash and defiant attitude. All he wanted was a few simplistic answers, but this individual had to make a verbal brawl out of it. Dodger must have failed in keeping his current feelings internal because judging by the bat's expression; those emotions were now very prominent on Dodger's face.

"Whoa, whoa easy there puppy," the bat said, setting his mug down and raising his hands in mock surrender. "I'm not here to start anything, and I have a pretty good feeling you don't want any kind of fight either."

Dodger's paws clenched into fists, but the bat was right about him, and his actions remained passive. _I hope all my meetings at this academy don't all lean towards total disaster_, he thought.

The bat now outstretched an arm towards him, a prideful smile put on that smug face of his. "Zane," he said confidently, as if he'd been waiting to reveal his identity to anyone "lucky" enough to cross his path, "Zane Steiz, soon to be this military's best in anything dealing with vehicles, ground or air."

"Dodger," the canine merely responded, reaching forward and clasping his new roommate's hand, "Dodger Sullivan." Dodger wasn't the kind of person who did flashy introductions and certainly didn't think too highly of those who did use them. And that was why he wasn't too moved by this "Zane" character. The fact that he hadn't even apologized for earlier was enough to leave quite a lasting impression for Dodger.

After a few seconds of them just eyeing one another, one silently judging the other, Jensen made the decision to finally enter the room. "Um, am I interrupting something?"

Both of them turned to stare at Jensen, Zane being the first one to react. "Well, well," he said waltzing over to Jensen, "Who is this new character?"

Jensen, looking alarmed at the approaching figure quickly glanced at Dodger for help. "Uh, this is Jensen," the canine said stepping in, "he's also our roommate."

"Wow," Zane said, "I'm impressed. You sir, look like the perfect trooper, how many of those courses will you be taking next year?"

Jensen's eyes suddenly began to study the patterns in the floor's carpeting as he stammered, "A-Actually I-I'm not taking m-most of them next year."

Zane looked up at the crocodile with a look of surprise. "Really?" he prodded. "Why's that? You certainly look the part."

Jensen kept his gaze at the floor and remained silent, unsure whether to answer or not for fear of any potential ridicule. He was about to give another glance at Dodger, but the canine caught on before the reptile could, and quickly broke up Zane's interrogation. "He's just more interested in doing something in the sciences, that's all."

Zane looked back at Dodger with the same look he gave Jensen. "This giant?" he said pointing back to the reptile. Jensen gave an uncomfortable wince at the attention returning to him, and took a step back.

Dodger was reaching his limit in toleration for the bat, and he took an aggressive step towards Zane that even made the rodent flinch. "This _giant_ has a name," Dodger snarled, "and that name is Jensen Abberton, I thought I had already made that clear."

"All right, all right there's no need for violence," Zane said turning away, heading towards his room. Then as he reached the door, he glanced over his shoulder and with his soon-to-be signature smile, he added, "I thought _I _had made _that _clear." And before Dodger could utter any form of rebuttal, Zane had closed the door.

He knew not to cause any more problems so he ended it before it had started. Dodger could respect him for that. Jensen managed to sunder up enough courage and sat down beside Dodger, who had plopped himself down on the couch. "He's not exactly a terrible person," Jensen said, twiddling his fingers.

"He's a damn prideful piece of work," Dodger said, staring at the room Zane made his home in. "That's _exactly_ what he is."

"I'd give him some time," Jensen replied. "He may end up growing on the both of us." It was then that Jensen noticed Zane's discarded glass. He went over to inspect it and gasped at what he saw. "That bastard drank some of my coffee!" This elicited a laugh from Dodger as he thought over Jensen's words _before_ the discovery of the coffee, "and maybe _we'll _end up growing on _him_," he silently added.

A little while later, Zane had come out of his room stretching his arms (and his wings) far above his head, letting out a long and loud yawn. "Well, I'm feeling refreshed," he announced. He turned to face his roommates and saw Jensen giving him a death glare. "What's up croc-err I mean Jensen?" Before said crocodile could attack the bat for stealing from his supply of caffeine, Dodger blocked his way and looked directly at Zane, his arms crossed.

"Do you think we could have one conversation without it hinting towards any kind of violent outbreak?" he asked politely. Zane could see that from Dodger's grim tone of voice that he wasn't supposed to make any form of joke. He commenced some form of staring contest with the canine for several seconds that were beginning to feel like hours before he finally came up with a reply.

"Yeah," he said, his abhorrent smugness returning, "I think we can. I mean we are going to be rooming together for the next three years. Well that is if you two manage to pass your entrance exams." The hostile stances that both of his roommates had taken had gotten him to quickly change the subject. "Which I'm sure you will. The ancient pooch at the assembly said so didn't he?"

Jensen gave an angry twitch at the disrespectful mentioning of their superior. "Yes," Dodger answered, "_General Pepper_ said it wouldn't be too difficult of a test to take."

"Yeah, that old dog can still be very charismatic," Zane replied. "But damn! How old do you think that S.O.B. is? He's got to be way over seventy if you ask me."

This did invoke a bit of wonder inside of Dodger, however mad it made him. The General _was_ very old from what Dodger had seen. General Pepper was even considered old during the Aparoid Invasion and that was over seventeen years ago! Before Dodger could speculate any more on the topic, Zane had already started verbally forming his own ideas.

"I say he's an android," he said. "It's the only reason for why he's still alive and kickin'. He's basically the most powerful being in the system right now, so he must have the cash or the doctors for it. And might I say, if that is the case, those doctors did a fine ass job of polishing him up."

"Maybe he just has good doctors that can keep his systems running," Dodger said, then glancing at Zane he added, "_without_ any metallic modifications made."

"That maybe be true," Zane seemingly acquiesced, "but I'm still sticking with my own theories about him. Hell, you'd think the bastard would retire by now."

"You mean General Pepper!" Jensen yelled, sitting up from his place on the couch.

"He speaks!" the bat responded throwing his hands up in mock celebration. "Once again the seemingly silent reptile geek produces words, what a marvel!"

The moment the bat finished those words, Jensen had him pinned up against the wall, his hand gripping the front of Zane's shirt, almost lifting him off the ground. "The same man who most likely allowed you to come here. I would show a little more respect towards him if I were you."

This sent Dodger into a wave of panic. Jensen had never behaved like this before, and the canine was definitely uninterested in waiting around to see what the crocodile was really capable of.

"JENSEN!" Dodger roared in voice that barely resembled his own. "Put him down." The room was silent; no noise could be heard except for Zane's feet touching the floor and Jensen's hand being withdrawn from the bat's shirt. When Zane reached the floor Dodger walked right up to him, their muzzles only inches apart. "Maybe this is what he loves," he said to him, his voice firm and commanding. "What if he feels that he needs to spend his life protecting Lylat? That the safety of the people is worth more than his own life." Now Dodger's nose was only millimetres from Zane's. "Maybe that's why the _bastard_ hasn't retired yet."

With a quick turn on his heel the canine skulked back to the couch and sat back down pinching the bridge of his nose. "Maybe this is the only life he's ever known," Jensen added, from the corner of the room he'd retreated to. "And if he leaves, where will he go after that?"

Dodger stared at the opposite wall facing him with blank expression. He couldn't think of anything more to say and didn't want to say anything else. Jensen felt he had said his piece and remained silent as well, which put this odd form of stress upon Zane to say something, but he couldn't choose the appropriate thing to say.

Zane then took all that had transpired the moment Dodger entered the room into consideration. Then he spoke up, but all the arrogant and bold tones had dissipated, and all that was left was a voice of sincerity. "I don't know," he said hollowly. After saying those words the bat said nothing more. Then he slowly made his way over to Jensen, who looked down at him with a stern glare. "I'm sorry about the coffee," Zane said, just out of earshot from Dodger but loud enough for Jensen to hear.

The crocodile, at that moment, had all the fierceness in his face, replaced by a look of disbelief. "T-That's," the crocodile stammered, at the same volume as Zane, "that's okay." Then with a small smile he added, "Just be sure to ask next time."

Dodger's head lifted when he heard the sound of Jensen and Zane together laughing amongst themselves, leaving him to ponder what caused the sudden turn of events. "You know," Zane said; suddenly back into his old attitude, "I think I know why the old-why _General Pepper_ designed the academy this way." Both the mammal and the reptile tilted their heads in puzzlement, waiting for him to answer. "It's so I can meet people as entertainingly weird as you two are." And with that, he retreated, once again, to his room.

"He's going to get his one day," Dodger said through gritted teeth. "I'm betting on that one hundred percent."

"Like I said before, he's not so bad," the crocodile replied. The latter remark caused Dodger's head to whip around and face Jensen's.

"Not so bad?" the canine responded angrily. "Not so bad? He threw every snarky comment he could your way about your choices and openly trashed the General himself! That remark seemed to get you to go almost insane!"

"I think what we said afterwards got through to him. I don't know how, but his delayed reaction to say anything speaks for itself." Then, mimicking Zane's actions, Jensen moved back into his shared dorm. "Besides," he said, "no matter what, I'm always quick to forgive."

Still remaining on the couch, Dodger was left to contemplate on the whole day's events. Oh yeah, he thought to himself. If I pass those first exams, then this is going to be one hell of a first year.


	5. Complications

Cornerian Outpost 3A

Fichina

"Damn, it's cold," the Husky muttered exhaling loudly, watching the plume of his breath rising into the frigid air.

Jude hated this job. Every day he had to wake up freezing his tail off in the half frozen base they were stationed at. Then there was the routine check to see if all of the bases equipment was still operational. And after all of that, the fun started. He got to head out to the even colder outdoors, and for what? Just to check for any hostile activity that could possibly be scouring the planet. Jude always laughed at this. Fourteen years of peace, fourteen whole years, and the ONI was still as paranoid as ever.

He hated it. He hated the temperature. He hated the quality of his living conditions. He hated how the whole situation put him into this eternal somber mood. And above all things, he hated their damn suns, Solar and Lylat (Jude had always thought that name was so original). Oh sure, they provided them with everything to make life existent in their system, but here, they were a giant tease. Every moment they could penetrate the heavy arctic sky, just enough for one of their rays to get through, he looked up to hopefully receive some warmth, only to have one ray that would concentrate all of its sheen into one spot, his eyes. So instead of receiving some sort of heat, he got blinded by it. Now, for the rest of his life, he'll always be the one who welcomes the rain and clouds with outstretched arms.

"Hey you," the sound of another voice broke him out of his would-be rest, "no sleeping on the job." Jude could only groan at the sound of his fellow soldier's voice, Kember, as the ursine sat down in the chair adjacent to him. He swore that the bear would always wait until he had just dozed off before bringing him back to cruel (and quite frankly cold) reality.

"Gimme a break Kem'," the Husky groaned, "I'm freezing enough out here that both of our asses may fall off."

"Highly unlikely," the grizzly replied. "Here," he handed the canine a mug, warm to the touch with steam rising up into the air mingling with the soldiers' frozen breaths. "I think my ass is covered what with all the thick fur, and you, well-I can't vouch for you."

"I'm a husky," Jude replied sourly, "but that still isn't enough to help with this damn weather." Jude focused his attention onto the mug and gazed at its properties, pondering as to what the enigmatic substance could be. "What is this?" he asked.

Kember replied with a relaxed tone, "A nice hot cup o' warm hot chocolate."

Jude looked up at the ursine with surprise. "And where in the hell did you get this?"

"From the coffee machine."

"We have a coffee machine?!"

"Indeed, good sir."

"I do a daily routine that covers the entire base," Jude exclaimed, his anger growing. "How did I not find this?" Then turning to Kember he added, "And how did _you_ come across this?"

Kember merely smiled and lay back in his chair. "You don't have a keen eye like I do." Jude wasn't buying it.

"You're full of shit you know that? Where were you hiding it?"

"Slow down doggie," Kember replied, "If I was so intent on keeping the creator of this delicious drink hidden, why would I be giving some to you now?"

"Oh, just shut up," the canine answered, defeated. He knew there was no more point in arguing, it would be best if he just sat back and enjoyed his hot chocolate. It'd probably be frozen over in the next few minutes if he didn't finish it soon anyways.

The two then just sat there, staring out into the horizon, watching the wind pick up some of the loose snow, carrying it across the landscape before returning it back to the tundra below. "It's beautiful out here," Jude heard Kember say. "Makes me glad I was assigned a post here."

"Yeah, well _you_'_re_ not the one getting assaulted by this _beauty _every five minutes," Jude snapped bitterly, tucking in his limbs to help create some larger source of warmth. "I seriously wouldn't be surprised if my tail fell off right here and now."

"Wanna test that?" Kember asked reaching slowly for the shaggy limb with one burly arm.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" the husky cried in alarm. He quickly gathered up his tail and clutched it firmly and protectively with both arms. What he didn't count on was the force of his movements causing his chair to fall from under him. From there Kember received a very amusing sight of Jude eyeing him, wearing a visage that resembled one of a serial killer's, and yet was still holding his tail right up against his breast.

"I swear if you make one noi-" but that was all Jude could get out before the grizzly laughed in his powerful baritone voice, nearly causing _him_ to fall out of _his_ seat. Jude was just about to tackle the ursine until he noticed something out in the distance in his peripherals. Quickly turning himself off his back, he rose to his feet to get a clearer picture. Not having his binoculars or any scoped weapon on him at the moment, he cupped his paws around his eyes hoping that that would better define the figure in his line of sight. Unfortunately nothing could bring more emphasis onto the being.

"Hey Kem'," Jude called to his brother-in-arms, who was still in hysterics in his chair. "KEMBER!" the sudden outburst managed to snap the bear out of his small fit and also successfully knocked him out of his seat. Kember's head then reached the wall the chair was propped up against and after a loud "BANG" of contact; the ursine was on his feet with a slightly less angry look on his face that Jude always wore.

"Damn it all Jude! There's no need for all this yelling!" he said rubbing the back of his head. "And now look what you did to me."

"Consider ourselves even then," Jude replied, flashing a quick toothy smile. It quickly disappeared and was replaced with his previous one of concern. "Kem', do you have any binoculars on you? My targeting headset's in my room."

"Sorry not on me right now," Kember answered. "But..." he dashed back into the base leaving Jude back out in the cold alone. However, it didn't take long for him to return, carrying a large sniper rifle in his hands. "...I do have this." Patting the scope on the top he handed it over to Jude, and he almost fell to the floor from the weight.

"For the love of Pepper; what in Lylat's name is this thing made of?"

"Oh, sorry," Kember apologized, taking the gun back. "For some reason I forgot that this was custom made."

"For some reason, I think you wanted another laugh."

"Hey, you said we were even I don't want to tip the balance this early," the bear said. "Give it a few more days and then we'll see."

"Sure whatever, could you please just take this a little more seriously?"

"Alright, alright," the bear said holding up his hands in mock surrender, one holding the rifle by itself. "Now what is it that you need a scope for?"

"I'm sure I saw something out there," Jude said scanning the environment with his sharp eyesight. "There, right there." Kember followed his companion's finger all the way out to the shadowy figure that lay several kilometres away.

"I see it, I see it," he replied, aiming his scope up to his eye. Squinting one of them, he put his open eye up to the end of the device and suddenly the world before all came focused to a single circle of white as well as a black shape. "Got it," the ursine replied.

"Well?" Jude was very much in distress. No activity for a few days was enough to drive a dog crazy, but finally seeing another form of life besides Kember was enough to make him go to the ends of Fichina in order to find out who-or possibly what-the distant enigma could be.

"Mmmm…" Kember groaned in slight frustration, "I can't focus in on it." He tried to adjust the zoom on the scope all the way to its maximum, yet nothing could come up as a definite image, apart from the constant flurry of white passing by.

"No dice," the bear sighed, lowering his rifle in defeat. "Sorry."

Jude sighed. _Well, there's goes the excitement in my afternoon_, he thought. Then he suddenly got an idea. "Dammit I'm such an idiot!" he ran back into the base with a startled Kember right on his heels.

"What?!" he called out to Jude in alarm. "What'd you forget?"

"We're soldiers in the damn Cornerian military," the canine replied.

"Well yes I figured that much since day one," the bear stated sarcastically.

He found Jude back in their resting quarters rummaging through one of his storage cases he had brought with him. These contained all of the necessary components to their mission and any personal items they felt they needed to take.

"Don't be a smart ass," Jude snapped, "If we're soldiers in the most pristine army of Lylat then why the hell shouldn't we have some sort of communications device." As he finished his last sentence, Jude pulled out a small metal headset, the same one he had mentioned earlier. He quickly fixed it to his right ear letting the rest of the device sit at front of his head. He brought down the targeting screen in front of his right eye. The machine instantly hummed to life and immediately recognized its owner. With smooth and neat lettering the statement that appeared on his targeting screen read: Welcome Back Jude.

"Good to be back baby," Jude answered. He had kept his communications head piece in his bag since the two had arrived and after their first day, he had already begun to miss it. It was a blessing that he had such a great opportunity to bring it back out for another usage before returning it to the dark confinements of his storage case again.

"Open and establish a communication link," Jude spoke to the targeting screen. A nifty feature that was introduced into the headsets was a voice operated system that kept all access to any of the army's archives or the soldier's arsenal and research under lock. Only the sound of the designated soldier's voice could grant the user entrance.

"Searching to establish known link," the automated voice replied. This was followed by several moments of silence each second adding more anxiety to the canine soldier. Finally with a depressing beep, the voice came up with an answer, "No known communication link within current radius."

"Son of a-" Jude was about to disconnect from the device in defeat when Kember spoke up.

"Isn't there a way to make the search radius bigger?"

"Yeah, but I've already exceeded the maximum limit," Jude answered solemnly. "If I go any wider I'll fry this thing to oblivion." He returned his comm. unit back to its dank abode and raised himself back up to Kember's level (as far up as he could physically go). "Meaning that whatever this thing is, it's not part of our forces."

"What if it's part of any alien wildlife here?" Kember optimistically suggested.

"Oh, of course," Jude said throwing up his hands in a display of great cynicism, "wildlife that researchers, with the most advanced technology, have still yet to find on a desolate wasteland!"

Suddenly growing grave, Kember threw forth his last thought, "...hostile?"

"Here? I have no idea. Who would want to conduct any kind of dangerous activity here anyway? It doesn't seem like the proper place to cause any system-wide panic."

"Maybe it's not an act of getting the people's attention," Kember retorted, "not yet anyways."

Both exchanged nervous glances with each other before they both raced back out to where they first saw the figure, but it was gone. Even the dim grey outline of it had disappeared into the infinite blur of white.

"Damn it, it's gone," Jude snarled.

"Should we go and report this to HQ? The other bases are too far to contact. Cornerian ONI's the only place that has a signal that can possibly reach us out here."

"All right," Jude sighed, "let's go."

With that, the two retreated back into their base and went to the main control room. It was a small space, with a metal interior matching its outer shell. All that was contained within the steel barriers was one large screen with a panel in front of it that was dark and offline for the moment. Jude approached the device and put his paw on an outlined square on the panel's interface. In an instant, the entire panel's surface lit up with a bright neon glow, illuminating the enclosed space surrounding the soldiers. The neon continued to spread across the panel with rapid speed giving birth and function to each colourless button and switch it passed. With a final hum of power, the large screen lit up flooding the room with a white sheen.

"And we have power," said Jude to no one in particular. The canine stepped back and gave the machine a few seconds to complete its automatic start-up processes before approaching the interface once again.

The screen above displayed the United Lylatian Forces symbol, seeing as this piece of technology was widely distributed and shared amongst each of the planet's militaries. Now that the screen had been lit, it displayed the copious amounts of dust that had accumulated on the surface of the dashboard from a lack of use. Jude quickly managed to clear the diminutive particles away from him, but not before he uttered a loud and sharp sneeze.

"When was the last time we used this thing?" Kember asked taking notice of the dust.

"I think it was the first day we got here," Jude answered rubbing his nose. "It was standard protocol to make sure all of the systems were operational and that a proper connection could be established in case of any emergency."

"Wow you sure learned your stuff," Kember said. "All of that seems so long ago."

"What can I say? I've read the book," Jude replied. "And don't remind me of how long we've been here on this lifeless rock."

"You started it by mentioning when we got here," Kember shot back.

Jude just held up a hand, not wanting to engage in any arguments. They were both plenty riled up from the potential hostility that was lurking somewhere outside and they didn't need any more contribution to add to that, especially from meaningless banter.

A holographic keypad appeared in front of him elevated slightly above the panel it was being projected from. His computer-friendly fingers swiped across the technically generated keys with such speed so the code for connecting to the intelligence office in Corneria seemed to appear in the provided bar instantaneously. Once done, Jude stood silently watching the screen tell him it was doing all it could to establish some form of communication with Corneria.

Kember patted his paw quietly against his side, his face locked in an expression of pure anxiety. This was the only connection they had left to try. What if they couldn't get through? He pushed the depressing thoughts away from his head and continued his patting.

Then, a bright blue light filled the room, reflecting off the metallic walls and shrouding the room in its hue. Kember heard an abnormally cheerful victory cry from Jude as he looked up and saw the canine jumping in the air with his fists raised in triumph. "WE HAVE A LINK!"

Kember immediately swooped over to the Husky's side, "Did you ever have any doubts?"

"Of course not, did you?" Jude exclaimed, looking at Kember with an incredulous look on his face, "Because from the sound of that patting, you didn't sound too confident."

That statement kept the ursine quiet as he stepped further back from Jude. Both gazed up at the screen stating that a link had in fact been made but no one came to claim it yet. It took a few more minutes before a figure appeared on the screen, though the picture had been distorted quite a bit and a large amount of static and white noise dulled the sound quality of the video feed as well.

"Of course," Jude growled, his anger returning. "The weather always has to come in at the most important of times."

He was tempted to give the dashboard a few good old fashioned punches when a loud booming voice broke through the static as if the voice's owner was right before them.

"SOLDIERS! ARE YOU IGNORING THE ORDERS OF YOUR SUPERIORS? I SAID FRONT AND CENTRE!"

Paralyzed by the sudden burst of rage they'd both forgotten over the weeks spent here, Kember and Jude both stood shoulder to shoulder, holding their right paws up to their foreheads each individual finger pressed together with the side of the palms facing the stern male on the screen, the universal salute for the United Lylatian Army.

"Sir, I apologize, there was too much static interfering with the signal and not much noise could be heard from our end of the connection, sir!" Kember replied.

"I DON'T CARE FOR ANY OF YOUR PETTY EXCUSES! YOU ARE TRAINED PROFESSIONALS! PEOPLE LOOK UP TO YOU AND DEPEND ON YOU TO BE AS DILIGENT AS YOU CAN POSSIBLY BE! DO YOU THINK THEY'D WANT TO HAVE TO LOOK TO YOUR LAZY ASSES FOR PROTECTION?! 'CUZ I SURE AS HELL WOULD NOT!"

_Nice to see you to commander_, Jude thought. Before the commander could muster up any more rage to continue his tirade, his voice was cut off by another, more calm, but just as firm. "Now, now Jameson, there's no need to beat them into submission for a few technical difficulties that were hardly their fault, you do remember their assigned location correct? And furthermore, were they not the ones that contacted you?"

The voice was unmistakable, the screen may have displayed nothing but incomprehensible images, but it only took one with a brain to know that it belonged to General Pepper. "General, Sir!" both Kember and Jude said in unison, straightening their postures even more to look as presentable as possible despite the poor visibilities of both displays.

"At ease boys at ease," Pepper replied, a hint of amusement weaved within his words, "can't have you stand like that all day, don't think you'd prefer that at all."

The two relaxed their tensed muscles and gazed up at what they could only guess was the famous bloodhound. "Now what was the purpose of this call?" the General queried, then with a bit of sarcasm added, "if you wouldn't mind my asking."

This was when Jude stepped forward resisting putting up another salute. "Sir, we were both on duty keeping watch outside of the base. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened except for this figure I saw out in the distance."

"Did you attempt to make contact with it?" the General asked.

"Multiple times sir, but it didn't identify as another soldier and we couldn't make any contact to the surrounding bases due to the _weather_," Jude said gritting his teeth at the last word.

Pepper's tone remained grave, letting out a few short coughs followed by clearing his throat. He grilled Jude further. "Could you make out any distinct feature about the figure?"

Jude shook his head, "The only thing we could make out was that it was a Lylatian. There is no indigenous species here so civilians aren't anywhere on this planet and we've proved it wasn't a soldier, so our only guess is that it must be something hostile."

The General ceased communicating, so Jude could only assume the old canine was pondering the situation. "Keep your arms close and we'll radio in with the other bases from here, if you notice any activity even closer to your vicinity I want you to cont-"

The General was permanently silenced by an unbearably large crackle of static and the two soldiers were left facing a black screen, the light from the panel's buttons extinguished, leaving them in almost complete darkness if not for the open entrance to the room.

Jude stood rooted to the ground; his hands stayed outstretched jittering at an alarmingly fast rate. Kember was almost the same save for his hands weren't patting his sides at all, but were glued to them, unable to move. Jude finally gained the urge to speak, but his hands remained shaking profusely. "Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT!" He pounded his fists against the offline dashboard, each time growing more and more intense as Jude let out all of his pent up anger towards the device.

"Jude," Kember called out too afraid to approach the enraged canine for fear of getting hurt himself. "Jude," he called out a little louder.

"...OF ALL THE TIMES FOR THIS SHIT PIECE OF TECH TO BREAK DOWN!"

"JUDE!" on account of Kember having a more powerful voice then Jude, the husky raised his head to Kember who stared back at him with a calming expression. "Jude, settle down. We're not going to get anything resolved with you attempting to destroy the only thing we have that keeps us connected to HQ, even if it's not working right now."

"Well what do we do then?" Jude asked. "We have something that could possibly be a threat to us and the naval office doesn't even have a damn clue on what it is!"

"Jude!" Kember could still see that Jude was still in his fit of rage despite the calmer tone coming from the canine's mouth. "_Possibly, _Jude_, _that's thekey word. There may _possibly_ be a threat out there. We don't know a lot yes I understand that, but that also means we aren't one hundred percent sure that what's out there is hostile. I'm sure the office is doing everything it can to figure out our situation and are finding a way to solve it."

Jude was still standing there, unclenching his fists and his teeth and relaxed every re-tensed muscle in his aggravated body. He resorted to quick sharp breaths, but his irate demeanour had seemingly subsided. "Okay," he breathed. "I'm sorry for the shouting and freaking out. I swear it's the damn weather. I'm losing my sanity over it I'm telling you."

Kember couldn't help but scoff at him. He may have been a frustrating partner to have, for these reasons in particular, but as far as Kember could admit, it was all he could ever have asked for. "Come on," he said gesturing to the door, "let's just head back to our posts and see what happens, we'll take a few more weapons out with us to be safe. There is a _potential _threat in the vicinity."

Jude couldn't help but smile feeling the same way Kember felt about him. "Lead the way." Kember grew serious and nodded, heading out the doorway with Jude following him in his tracks.

They stopped by their equipment again and grabbed a few more small arms and ammunition seeing as they only had enough room to bring a limited amount. Satisfied with their choices, they headed back out to their posts.

"Well, back to where we started," Jude mumbled. "Now we get to look out and see even more snow than before! Oh, fun!"

"Well it's good to see your attitude's gone through a drastic improvement during these crazy times."

"Not today Kem', I've-_we've_ been through a whole hell of a lot and I just want to try and enjoy the most of what I c-"

Jude never had time to finish his sentence before he was almost thrown out of his chair by a powerful unknown force, the sheer sound shaking the very earth beneath him. The whole of Fichina became a blur to Jude as he stumbled to right himself after flying right out of his seat. He looked around hoping that his vision would improve so he could see the cause of the blatant disruption.

Quickly he caught a glimpse of orange, almost unnoticeable due to distance which was assisted by the snowstorm. His focus, at last, had returned and he could see the very distinct property that was fire. A large blaze armoured with flames licking as high as they could muster. And from the fire came smoke, a large infinite column of black reaching to a place where the heat could only dream of achieving. There had been an explosion.

"Oh m-" the next one was much closer. The force of this was what knocked Jude back into the wall of the base. Not enough to break any of his bones, but enough to have all the air expelled from his lungs. He struggled to get back up clutching his chest and making broken gasps for air in order to regain his stature. It was slowly working as he stood up again. He took a few staggered steps forward to look in the direction of the next piece of destruction.

It was like a mirror image of the first: a pillar of smoke resting atop a bed of flames rising up, seemingly forever, into the white sky. The ashes from the second base were close enough to be carried along in the wind, bringing them towards Jude and landing directly on his face which he absent mindedly wiped away, leaving a black smudge running along his face, contrasting against his white frontal fur.

There was a dull ringing in his ears as a result of the nearby secondary explosion which was slowly diminishing and began to be replaced by the crackling of flames. Another sound made itself through Jude's currently impaired hearing. It sounded like shouting, deep shouting. Strange, it seemed somewhat familiar to Jude. In a flash of movement Jude was gripped from the shoulders and spun around to face a much panicked Kember.

He had ash on his face as well but it was barely visible against the ursine's rough brown fur. What _was_ visible was a single streak of red that ran down the length of Kember's entire face where it stopped at his chin. From there it started to drip onto the snow, marking the white with its crimson stain. He was shaking Jude as hard as his strength could muster, in an attempt to bring his dazed comrade back to reality.

"Jude! JUDE! Focus, man, focus! It's me, Kem'. You need to focus; we've got to signal for help!"

Jude's eyes started losing their glazed appearance as he slowly processed his friend's words, uttering his own since the strike on the first base, "...machine...broken...the w-weather."

Kember understood Jude's muttering and hung the canine's limp body over his shoulders, "We're gonna have to try Jude, we're gonna have to try." After a few deep breaths, Kember trekked back into the base each step taking a great strain on his stamina. Once they entered, Kember entered a code in the control panel next to the interior side of the doors which closed and locked them behind the fortified steel. The base was riddled with blast doors so they would have extra protection, but Kember wondered how long such protection could last.

He had to make it. They had to make it. This signal had to get through; they wouldn't survive long enough until Corneria sent any forces to come to their aid. They had to send the signal and get away from a safe distance in case their base was the next one to be devoured by the gluttonous flames. And if it didn't, then what _would_ befall the two?

Kember's head continued to pound, each burst of pain intensifying by each second. _If only I wasn't near the damned wall_, he thought, wiping some of the blood from his forehead away with his left paw while the other kept Jude stabilized. _I've got to keep going, but I don't know how long my legs can hold out._

Jude's senses were still returning at a slower rate than expected, his vision though less blurry than before, still remained distorted as he gazed at the floor, swaying slowly back and forth on Kember's shoulders.

Just then, Kember heard something, muffled noise, a voice perhaps? He wasn't sure. They didn't seem that far off, somewhere near the entrance. They remained at the same volume, never growing louder in case of being heard. Kember tried to quicken his pace, but his wounds kept him at his current speed. It couldn't have been the backup from Corneria that the General had mentioned, it was too soon. Could it be survivors from the former bases? Kember doubted that. Not even their armour would have withstood the force of those explosions, especially when they were right in the epicentre. That could only mean-

"Jude, can you hear me?" Kember grunted, his pain growing.

The canine stirred, letting out a string of unintelligible slurs before letting out a distinct, "Uh-huh." Kember sighed with both pain and relief.

"Alright, Jude I'm going to need you're full attention for this okay?" he pronounced and annunciated each word slowly and careful to help Jude understand better, he couldn't afford to make any mistakes at this point.

Jude slowly nodded his head up then dragged it down against the bear's broad shoulder. He may have been frail at the time, but he was still able to keep an ear available.

"Good, now listen closely," Kember grabbed Jude and laid him down against one of the walls. He had managed to carry him into the hallway that led to their sleeping quarters. He only hoped it was enough for the canine to walk the rest of the way on his own. "I'm going to shut the blast doors to this hallway with you on this side. From there I need you to head back to the comm. station, get it back online if you can, try your best, and make contact with the office again, make it a high priority call, make it an emergency one if you have to, just do everything and I mean everything to make contact, you got me?"

"O-okay," Jude meekly replied. "I think I got it." Then he quickly snapped his head up to look at Kember's, the whole of what the bear said to him coming full circle. "But Kember you-"

Kember held up a hand-silencing the husky. "Don't worry about me Jude, this is far more important. Now I'm not going to have to tell you what to do again am I?" The ursine's tone had no sense of humour, or lightness to it, as opposed to his usual method of speech. It was replaced by a grave and somber one and it struck Jude with a little fear that he never had felt towards Kember before.

"No I-I've got it."

The explosion was far enough away from them to not have the same effects the other two had had on them before, but it was enough to alert them. Kember whipped his head around to behind him to hear multiple stomping of boots making contact with the cool metal floors of the base. They sounded quick-paced and were getting closer with each passing second.

"Shit, they're coming," Kember swore. He quickly grabbed his rifle by the strap and flung it from off his shoulder and into his professionally trained paws. In a flash of movement, he smashed the butt of the rifle into the control panel next to him that controlled the blast doors to the hallway. A loud klaxon alarm commenced its ringing and the hallways were flooded in a red light as all other power was shut off. The loud pumping of the blast doors' pistons and the screaming of the metal were all that could be heard for the two soldiers. "You know the escape doors on this side of the base right?" Kember asked shouting over the roar of the gigantic machinery.

Jude nodded, instantly running mental images of all of the locations of the aforementioned doorways in his mind that were located on his side of the blast doors. "Right, right, but-"

"What did I just say?" Kember interrupted sternly. The doors were almost shut, and Jude was beginning to have a hard time seeing Jude. That was when the footsteps stopped and were replaced by a few shouts confirming the status of both Jude and Kember. "DAMN IT JUDE RUN FO-"

Kember was instantly silenced by the stream of bullets and laser fire that erupted from the muzzles of the hostiles' weaponry. Almost every shot piercing and burning Kember's body and almost passing through Jude's if he hadn't leapt to the walls for cover.

He now had the blaster he chose for continuing his outside post held close to his chest, his hands threatening to break the gun in half from the intensity of his grip. All his senses had been restored and heightened with new found adrenaline rushing through his veins; he had to make use of his newly recuperated state to get to the communications office Kember ordered him to go to.

Kember, Jude thought. He felt the need to shed tears of any kind but he couldn't, it wasn't the right time. Pushing his friend as far away from his mind as he could, he got right back up onto his feet and prepared to go to his destination. Behind him he could hear the intruders directly on the other side of the blast doors. One banged several times on the surface of the wall letting out a joint sentence of profanities, thankfully muffled from the thickness of the blast doors.

Jude could make out some sentences from the voice, "Great, now how are we gonna get through this? It has to be a least five feet thick!"

The other voice sounded calmer, most likely the leader, "Relax we can get through it, we got through the other ones didn't we? And besides, you do have the means to get through this, don't you?"

The other voice, a little more gleefully replied, "Oh yeah, you have no idea what I have at my disposal. But still this is a pretty big set of doors, I don't know if I can fully breach them."

"Have a little faith; you broke through the other ones didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that was taking down a whole base, this is just a door, the other explosives would seem a tad excessive. Which reminds me of something; why aren't we blowing this one all the way to hell like the other ones?"

"We need some of this place's systems operational, right? Just need to drive out any infestations that are residing here in the present time."

"Then why didn't we keep the other bases too? Don't they have the same things?"

"One will suffice, and we can't have others that can contact for help while we're occupied with invading one of their bases."

Jude didn't want to listen anymore; he was wasting time anyways and couldn't afford to abuse any more of it. He quickly took off towards the communications centre hoping the blast doors would hold long enough for him to complete a transmission to the office.

He got to the room, shutting the door behind him, but had no objects in the room to barricade the door with. He would have to be quick. He placed his paw onto the interface but nothing happened, the dashboard remained dark and the screen lifeless. "Please," he whispered, his voice quivering. "Please just work for me this once, please?"

He waited a few moments before placing his paw back on the interface and it lit up. Jude's face lit up suddenly remembering why it was operational. "Of course, the power was down; it takes a while in this weather for the backup auxiliary power to come on."

Then Jude was hit with a wave of shock. "If I had known it at the time, would Kember still have done what he did? Would he have had to? Would he still be alive?"

His thoughts were interrupted by the hum of the panel as all the familiar lights were lit up again. "The transmission," Jude reminded himself. "Whatever happens I need to get that transmission up, no matter what happened. Kember would have wanted me to do it, no matter what mistakes I made." He quickly restored all the settings that would link him to the office.

And it was then that Jude felt something that he had never felt in a long time, joy. Joy because there may be a small possibility that he could free himself from this damned planet and get back home to see his family again. His family, who were the ones helping to support him when he departed for his duties, the same ones who would remember his deeds and what he had done even after death.

If this were to work he could see them again, all of them. And once he returned to them, he would spend every waking moment with them all, and would try his best to stay with them as long as he could. In a matter of minutes his dreams would be realized, his wishes fulfilled, true the waiting would be longer, but he was sending out an emergency signal. This would motivate the whole of the Cornerian army to come to his aid.

All Jude's troubles were fading away and replaced by a burning hope. Something he'd made into a daily routine for himself. To constantly hope that things would get better as they went along. All of his problems solved within the duration of his mission. And all that hope had to have been building up to this very moment; it only added up for Jude when he ran it though his mind. This had to work.

The link was still making an attempt to establish some form of connection with the office. Due to it running on auxiliary power, the communication systems would run progressively slower even if it was making contact with the most powerful station in Lylat. "Come on, you damned piece of machinery," Jude growled under his breath.

Suddenly, Jude could hear a large blast come from the direction he came from-the same direction the intruders were. The explosion he just heard confirmed it: they successfully broke through the blast doors and were heading his way.

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Jude almost pounded on the device again assuming that would make it process faster. "How did they get through so quickly?"

All those feelings of newfound exuberance were becoming individually shattered with each approaching footstep. How long would it be before they arrived? And what would happen when they did?

Jude swallowed, making every attempt not to lose his concentration. What he needed to do was aim to get the message across first, which was the most important thing. But would that mean he could...

"No," Jude spoke aloud; he couldn't afford to think like that, not at this time. He slowly pulled out his blaster, removing the safety mechanism and aiming it for the door. If he was going to die then he wouldn't do it cowering in some small corner. He adjusted his aim until it was perfectly lined with the middle of the doorway; his finger remained on the trigger, which was shaking slightly. He steadied himself with deep breaths, but the footsteps continued to unnerve him the more closer they sounded. The noise of their feet was heard, but their voices remained silent.

"Take it easy Jude." He kept his gaze straight and his grip tight. "Just count to three, they should be that close."

_One_. They were in the same hallway the communications room was located. They must have spotted the door due to the increase in their pace. It'd be mere seconds now.

_Two_. The footsteps slowed, they were approaching the door. Jude gripped his blaster even tighter, his aim precise, and his stature unmoving.

_Thr_-a bright blue light covered the room thus breaking all of Jude's built up focus and drawing all of that attention to the screen that displayed the same static as before and Jude could only hope someone was there to receive his call. To his immediate relief a familiar voice was there to greet him. "Jude? Is that you? Is everything alright? What's happening?"

"General, thank you, thank you, please, please you have to send more-"

The bullet flew through the air, slicing through it during its course and finally, embedding itself into the generator that operated the auxiliary power, shutting it off completely. This in turn both broke Jude's connection and left him in the dark except for the red alarm lights that were glowing from the room's entrance, blocked by two individuals, one still holding the gun.

"Sorry," the one holding the weapon replied, "I'm afraid I can't have you doing that, seeing as it kind of messes with our schedules."

In an instant Jude's previous focus returned as he quickly aimed his blaster in the direction of the figure, and began to aim knowing he might only have one shot. Unfortunately he never had time to take that shot before another bullet ripped through his chest, followed by two more in other parts of his midsection. He fell to the floor onto his back; his blaster rolled from his fingertips and hit the floor with a loud clack. Slowly, it became surrounded by the red liquid that was pooling from Jude's back.

All focus dissipated and was replaced with absolutely no feeling at all. What could he feel? Pain? It didn't hurt as much as he thought. Fear? That's not him; he already made a promise to himself that he wouldn't be the one cowering in a corner awaiting his inevitable demise. But as the figure approached his incapacitated form, he couldn't help but feel a shred of disappointment.

"Apologies," the figure said cynically, "but I don't take too kindly to having a gun pointed at me, I'm sure you would feel the same way if you were in my position, wouldn't you?"

It was still dark for Jude not to see the features to his assailants face, but he could see that he was a wolf, due to the shape of his body most notably the ears, raised a perfect ninety-degrees.

"Maybe I would," Jude grunted, coughing up blood as he spoke, "but I'm not in your position right now am I?"

The wolf chuckled slightly, sickeningly amused. "Well you got me there I suppose. Would you believe me if I said I wasn't very sorry for you in your current state at all?"

Jude kept silent, he didn't want to have to waste any breath he had remaining exchanging dialogue with this lowlife.

The wolf took the silence given to him as an answer and merely smiled. "Thought so." He knelt down beside Jude and brought out his gun again. "Well I can't say I'm _completely_ unfeeling towards you, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this." He lowered the gun to Jude, pressing the muzzle gently onto his forehead.

The cold steel caused a shiver to run all the way down his spine and back again. Jude closed his eyes, knowing just like everyone else what would happen next. Despite the knowledge of his inescapable fate, he couldn't help but laugh a little. He wouldn't be degraded by anyone; if the weather couldn't fully break him, then death had no chance.

"Sorry to let you down Kem'," he forced out the last few breaths he had left, "wasn't fast enough."

The room echoed with the sound of the gunshot, leaving a faint ringing in the wolf's ears. He stood up, holstered his weapon and met back with his companion at the doorway. "Come on," he said, "we've got work to do."


End file.
